Small business owners have been advertising on Augusta radio since the first station, WRDW, went on the air in 1930.  By almost every metric, the medium remains the best way to successfully market goods and services to local consumers.

Before  Central Savannah River Area businesses finalize their marketing plans for this year, here are five facts they should know about radio advertising.

Advertising is critical to the success of every Central Savannah Rivera Area small business owner.  One of the most powerful elements of any advertising campaign is how many people it reaches.

Nielsen, the world's largest consumer insights company, found that advertising reach has a more significant effect on sales than branding, recency, and context.

There are many ways a local business owner can advertise. This includes traditional media like Augusta radio, local TV, and newspaper. It also includes online advertising options such as Facebook, Instagram, and Pandora.

They type of customer an individual business needs to reach depends on the goods and services the company sells. For instance, a daycare operator might want to reach households with young children. On the other hand, a real estate agent could be looking for consumers in the market to purchase a new home.

The buying power of Black consumers in the Central Savannah River Area is now $4.8 billion. Over the past 19 years, according to Nielsen, the pace of spending by African Americans has grown 28% faster than by White consumers.

If a CSRA area small business owner would like to earn a larger share of this spending, the best place to start is with advertising.

"For African American consumers, advertising of all types is an important touchpoint in their shopping journey," says a recent study by Nielsen. "African American consumers are more likely than the total population to agree that advertising provides them with meaningful information about the product use of other consumers."

"African Americans are avid media consumers, across multiple media channels, which gives advertisers ample opportunities to connect with them."

The best advertising medium, though, for small business owners to reach the CSRA's African American consumers is local radio.

Central Savannah River Area small business owners have depended on radio advertising to market their goods and services since June 25, 1930.  That's the day William Davenport and Clark Jack put WRDW, the first Augusta station, on the air.

Today, there are 28 radio stations that serve the CSRA. Each provides a unique blend of music, information, and entertainment.  Some stations focus on politics or sports. Some play country music. Some play the hits. Some play classic rock. Some are on the AM dial. Some are on FM.

When Mr. Davenport and Mr. Jack began broadcasting, there were no TV stations in Georgia. Those would come 18 years later. Also, there was no social media, YouTube, Sirius/XM, Pandora, Spotify, or smartphones. Each of those would all be products of the next millenium.

With an overabundance of advertising options now available to small business owners, does advertising on Augusta radio still make sense?  Here are five facts that serve to answer that question.